Wow, Try This One

I just finished practicing, again. Today I had the brilliant notion to sit on our large, inflatable exercise ball whilst playing. You know the kind I mean, 3 feet in diameter, used for exercising one’s ‘core’ muscles kind-of-a-thing.

Here’s why playing while sitting on one is a good thing.

As I’ve often said, playing the violin is a horizontal game – I think that’s why all you sensual types like it so much!

Seriously though, shifting, and 99% of your right arm movements are about horizontal motion. The vertical movements of string crossings must be so efficient and well timed that virtually no energy gets transferred into the torso.

When you’re sitting on one of those balls any counterproductive motions you make while playing get amplified.

The trick is to put as much, or more, energy than you are now into your playing while staying quiet on the ball. I think you’ll find yourself letting go of a lot of unnecessary tension AND sharpening the timing of your shifts, bow changes and string crossings. Pretty cool.

If you have one of these balls give it a try. After you’ve finished please send me a quick note. I’d like to know how it worked for you.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. The ultimate test, for you aspiring virtuosi, is Paganini #2. If you can get through that Caprice while on the ball, and not eject yourself from the room, you may not need to invest in my Paganini course after all. On the other hand, the low-down on how to play fast scales in tenths, the continuous ricochet in #1, the left hand pizz in #24, and numerous other ‘tricks’ may prove irresistible.